Sir Paul Smith Calls Bollocks on Claims That The Suit Is Dead

The inimitably eccentric British designer reasserts the importance of tailoring at Pitti Uomo.

When a young man makes national news for wearing a suit and tie, you know something is going on at the very core of men's fashion. Suits are over. They're donzo. Kaput. From now on dudes wear only jogger pants, knit sneakers, merch tees and bomber jackets. A tie is nothing more than a collar by which The Man keeps you on his short corporate leash.

This is not true. Last week's exceptional shows from men's fashion week in London are proof of that. But it is true that men are wearing suits less often, and that dressing more casually—like, say, you're on your way to flip truck tires and do burpees 'til you puke—is now widely acceptable for social situations. But suits are alive and well. Right?

One good place to look for an answer is Pitti Uomo, the menswear tradeshow that takes place in Florence, Italy during the global men's fashion month. It's where the men's fashion peacock has gone to roost for the past several years, and where he has, in recent times, become subject to much ridicule for ostentatious displays of dandyism. These silly creatures make it easy to imagine a world without colorful three-piece suits, jaunty top hats, twisted mustaches, brass monocles, and other such pathetically trite style affectations.

Fortunately, this season's Pitti Uomo hosted Paul Smith, the famously adventurous British fashion designer, as a guest. Smith has been making suits for over 30 years—good ones—and sells them in over 70 different countries. Who better to ask about the state of mens suiting. So, Sir Smith, is it true? R.I.P. suits?

"That's bollocks," he tells me. "All of that. That's just people needing to say things. There will always be, in your lifetime, people that feel suits do a job."

Smith came to Florence to launch his PS collection, which is based on his love for cycling and other active pursuits. (He is an avid cyclist himself, and counts Tour de France winners Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins among his close pals.) But even his activewear line includes suits that don't wrinkle and can repel water. His presentation featured an acrobatic dance troop that demonstrated that you could train for a bike race (or balance with one arm on someone's head) in tailored clothes, if they're made for it. Suits are functional, whether than can wick sweat or not.

"Imagine coming over on a jumbo jet to Europe," Smith says. "And the captain met you at the door and he was dressed in Gap. You'd think, is this dude gonna be able to fly me? Do you believe him? If he's in a suit, you believe him." It's true that people who are responsible for your life or your money tend to wear suits—bankers, politicians, police chiefs. As they should. At the very least to prove they're competent enough to tie a tie. As for the rest of us? "Everybody, when they get married, normally wears a suit," Smith says. "So I'm in the wedding business!"